Board Membership

The Board is constituted by members with a broad range of expertise and a variety of skills who are diverse in gender, culture, religion, race, beliefs, age, political affiliation and marital status. The Board is supported by a small team of competent and hardworking public service officers. Periodic and careful recruitment of Board members and staff ensures the Board continues to deliver a high standard of service focussed on making sound, informed and well-reasoned decisions when considering release to parole.

A Chairperson, to be nominated by the Minister and appointed by the Governor; and

At least 2 deputy chairpersons, to be nominated by the Minister and appointed by the Governor; and

As many Community Members as are necessary to deal with the workload of the Board, to be nominated by the Minister and appointed by the Governor; and

As many officer as the Corrective Services Division, Department of Justice; and

As many police officers as are necessary to deal with the workload of the Board, to be appointed by the Commissioner of Police.

Pursuant to section 103(4)(a) and (b) of the Sentence Administration Act 2003 (WA), Community Members appointed to the Board must be able to make objective and reasonable assessments of risk and must also possess knowledge and understanding of one or more of the following:

The impact of offences on victims;

Aboriginal culture local to this State;

A range of cultures among Australians;

The criminal justice system; or

Community issues such as issues relating to employment, substance abuse, physical or mental illness or disability, or lack of housing, education or training.

Professional development sessions are provided for and are compulsory for all members. These are held on a monthly basis and the focus is on information directly related to the work of the Board.

During Board hearings, Board Members are strongly encouraged to engage in well thought-out, open debate. It is the role of the Chair of each meeting to facilitate debate and ensure that each Board member not only identifies his or her view of the appropriate outcome, but goes on to explain the reasons for that view. In that way, the other members will become aware of factors that they may not, themselves, have considered, or to which they would not otherwise have given sufficient regard.

Of course, the Board is not only required to make a decision with respect to parole, it is also required to give its reasons for allowing parole, refusing it or adjourning consideration to a later date. This is one aspect where attention to improve the quality of the work of the Board also meets another objective, that of improving the quality of communication with prisoners. It is incumbent on the Board to identify every fact or matter which has led to the decision to deny or to release a prisoner on parole and not simply to rely on one or some of those matters.

Periodically, the Board will advertise for Community members to join the Board for terms of appointment that can vary between one and three years. Should you wish to be considered for appointment to the Board as a Community Member, you should respond to the advertisement at that time as requested.

We endeavour to better connect potential candidates with Western Australian Government Boards and look for a diverse range of people interested in contributing their experience, expertise, advice and voice to help the community.